From Disney to Boston

If your familiar with the Disneyland Half Marathon, you’re going to be very familiar with the end of the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Route.

We left off at the end of mile 8 and the entrance to the Big A. This is what it looked like when I ran by there from the direction we will run this race route.

This is what it looked like at the 2014 Disneyland Half Marathon.

I had to go back and exit the Santa Ana River Trail and approach the Big A this way.

At the Disneyland Half Marathon, the exit of the Santa Ana River Trail meant the end of mile 9. They had Cliff Shots here. I’m not sure if they will have them at the same location.

I took pictures on my 12.5 mile dress rehearsal run. However, it’s more fun to see actual race photos. You make your way through the Angel Stadium parking lot towards the stadium.

You head down this ramp. Keep in mind that the ramp is a little steep. So, watch your speed down the ramp. You’re going to be excited because the crowds are loud at the stadium and it’s fun to run inside it.

You will run underneath the stands…

Now it gets cool. You’re almost on the stadium floor!

People will stop to get their photos once they get on the field.

The crowd is awesome!

Enjoy the time around the field. On the third base side is where the camera is. It’s located towards the end of the Angels dugout. When you get there, look up at the screen below the Big A ahead of you. You will be on the screen!

All good things come to an end and your time in the stadium is pretty much over once you get here.

You will come out here. Yes, there is another short climb out of the stadium. As you can see, it’s not a very long climb.

You’ll come out here and head to your left.

And you’ll make your way around the perimeter of the stadium.

At the Disneyland Half Marathon, there were two bands here.

Somewhere on the outside you’ll cross the 9 mile marker. the course turns…

and you’ll head to the end of the parking lot.

At the end of the parking lot, you’ll head on up Gene Autry Way. Again, this is just like the Disneyland Half Marathon course. For me, this has been the hard part. We enter not so fun scenery.

Up Gene Autry Way, the route will veer to the right to get off this road.

It sweeps around and under Gene Autry Way here.

You get to pass under Gene Autry Way again at the end of mile 10! As you can see, it’s not the most inspiring place to run. When you see the 10 mile marker, you’ll only have a 5K left!

As you can see, when you come to Clementine Street, the course strays away from the Disneyland Half Marathon course. Unfortunately, I made a wrong turn here on Sunday. So, I can’t comment too much on the part of the course. I’ve driven back in this street. I know that it’s rather flat. Sorry I can’t comment too much.

You come out here, on Manchester Avenue. The mile 12 marker is getting soooooo close.

You’ll turn where the sidewalk comes to an end in this picture.

From there, you’ll head backstage for most of the rest of the race.

Something that will be different from the Disneyland Half Marathon is that you will have to come down this ramp in a road that leads from backstage at Disneyland to backstage at Disney California Adventure. This picture is from the Disneyland 10K. On that route, we go the opposite way. So, the Avengers course will head down where this picture is going up.

And we will head up where this picture shows the runners going down. I remember this from the 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon course. They put this road at the beginning and the end of the race. It’s kind of a cruel uphill because of its location. So, be ready for this. Don’t expend all your energy thinking that you only have a little more than a mile left and you’ll be okay. This hill be a killer for those not aware its coming…or for those back of the packers like myself who just want the race to be over already.

From there, you make you way through the backstage area of Disney California Adventure that you ran through at the start of the race. Only this time, you’re going the opposite way. The road is completely flat. It feels like it lasts forever.

However, you will come out and cross Disneyland Drive.

In the parking lot, there are a lot of people cheering you on for the entire rest of the race.

When you get here, it’s almost over. Take in the moment and negotiate with your body for every ounce of energy. You might want to think about how you want to finish the race at this point.

You’re about to enter Downtown Disney. That mile 13 marker is getting oh so close.

Large crowds await you in this last section of the course. You can see the edge of the ESPN Zone building from here. That’s where the mile 13 marker is.

Once you cross the 13 mile marker, the finish line is sight. Enjoy this moment. Look for the Disney walk around characters that will likely be there at the finish. It would be cool, with this being the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon, if the characters were Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc.

See how far away from the finish line I am? Make sure that you don’t stop right at the finish line. You can get a rather good selfie even this far away. Remember that everyone is coming in for their dream finish. Some are charging hard. So, make sure to give them their moment.

Time to get your finishers medal.

Enjoy the bling!

I hope that something I’ve written this week about the race course will help you as you prepare for the race. That’s why I did it. This is an inaugural year for this race. So, I’m sure that I’ve misinterpreted something in the race map. For that I do apologize. Honestly, I think this will be a great race course! For me, it very well could replace running the Disneyland Half Marathon. After all, the weather should be much better and you get to run through Angel Stadium. I hope it turns out as good as it did for me this past weekend. The race is just over 3 weeks away! Good luck to all of you who seek to Smash The Half!

Glad to hear that you’re feeling better about the route now. So am I. That’s why I ran this route to begin with. I wanted to see that parts I haven’t run before. You are so right when you say that the only things that matters is that fun is had. I hope you have fun with this race!

Thanks so much for putting this together – can’t wait to run Avenger’s, I’m really looking forward to my first runDisney race! Quick question – do you use your phone for music and pics or do you carry anything separate (camera, shuffle, etc.)??

Good question! I use my phone for music and pictures. For the races and runs longer than a 10K, I use a Nike Plus GPS Sportwatch to track my runs (time, distance, etc.). For runs of a 10K distance or shorter, I use my Nike Plus Sportwatch in the daylight and the Nike Plus app on my phone in the dark (or if most of my run happens without the sun).

Welcome to Why I runDisney

I am a 45 year old run/blogger, Disney fan, husband, and father of an amazing toddler from the Los Angeles area who is on a journey from runDisney races to trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Thanks for stopping by!